Pressure manifold having plurality of quick connect-disconnect plugs for selectively receiving pressure meter, drain cock, etc.

ABSTRACT

A manifold for diverting compressed air supplied via pipes in communication with a compressor, to various air tools, connected with pressure meter, drain cocks and pipes for air tools, if necessary, by connectors.

United States Patent 1191 Mikiya Sept. 25, 1973 [5 PRESSURE MANIFOLDHAVING [56] References Cited PLURAUTY 0F QUICK UNITED STATES PATENTSCONNECT'DISCONNECT PLUGS FOR 1,797,591 3/1931 Sartakoff 137/557SELECTIVELY RECEIVING PRESSURE 2,529,605 11/1950 Gustafson 137/557 xMETER, DRAIN COCK, ETC. 3,633,618 l/l972 Blackmore 137/557 x 2,783,7753/1957 Fuliwood 25l/294x [76] lnvemo" M' 1 chomel 1,452,779 4/1933 Barry285/151 x lke aml, Ota-ku, Tokyo, Japan 2,342,757 2/1944 Rosel' 285/151x 22] Filed: N0 22 1971 2,645,244 7/1953 Klickman .1 137/561 R 2,935,3385/1960 Mills 251/1495 [21] Appl. No.: 200,901 3,103,942 9/1963 Sharp 137561 R x [30] Foreign Application Priority Data 57 g g t g lfl KllinksiekDec. 29, 1970 Japan..... 45/133325 (utility model) mmey 0 er e Jan. 22,1971 Japan 46/1909 [57] ABSTRACT [52] U.S. Cl 137/557, 137/561, 285/155,A if ld f diverting compressed air supplied via 285/156 pipes incommunication with a compressor, to various [5 1] Int. Cl. Fl6k 37/00air tools Connected with pressure meter, drain cocks [58] Fleld ofSearch 285/150, 15 l, 152, and pipes f air tools, if necessary, byConnectors,

8 Claims, 6 Drawing Figures PRESSURE MANIFOLD HAVING PLURALITY OF QUICKCONNECT-DISCONNECT PLUGS FOR SELECTIVELY RECEIVING PRESSURE METER, DRAINCOCK, ETC.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION Generally, manifolds are used to divertcompressed air supplied via pipes in communication with a compressortovarious kinds of air tools, and various kinds of manifolds have beendeveloped. In the prior types of manifold, there is provided a pressuremeter mounted on a compressor. It was not possible to learn how muchpressure the manifold received from the compressed air coming from thecompressor and how much pressure it sent to various air tools in theform of compressed air. It was particularly necessary to learnaccurately the pressure at the end of pipes when several air tools areused at the same time and the pressure in the whole pipe line decreases.The present invention aims to obviate the above mentioned problems.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION An object of the present invention is toprovide a manifold with a through longitudinal hollow therein and aplurality of holes in communication with the hol- 5 vide a manifold withimproved holes and improved fittings by;

a. enabling that even if the manifold based on the present invention islocated far from a compressor with 1 a pipe in communication therewith,compressed air is supplied to a plurality of air tools with equalpressure connectedthereto,

b. enabling to measure the pressure precisely and readily at a remoteend far from the compressor,

c. enabling to exhaust impurities and drains in the manifold andsupplying pipes and tubes of compressed air with one drain cock,eliminating the prior art many drain cocks that have been necessary, andd. enabling to communicate the manifold with the compressor and themanifold with the various air tools respectively selecting the shortestcut by pipes and hoses.

Still other objects and features of the present invention will be moreclear and concrete when taken in accordance with the followingdescription and accompanying drawings illustrating preferred embodimentsof the present invention.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING FIG. 1 is a perspective view of anembodiment of a manifold in accordance with the present invention,

FIG. 2 is a front view of another embodiment with drain cocks and apressure gauge in accordance with the present invention,

FIG. 3 is a front view with partially cut section of a deformedembodiment with diverting holes which is connected thereto with aregulated angle,

FIGS. 4 and 5 are front views of modified embodiments with differentconnections of fittings such as plugs in accordance with presentinvention, and

FIG. 6 is an enlarged view of the connecting parts of the plugs in FIG.4.

DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS As shown in FIG. 1, a manifold ofthe present invention comprises, a manifold body 10, plugs 20, fittings30, a pressure meter 40.which is removably provided on the manifold 10via fittings 30, and a drain cock 50 which is also removablyprovided.

The manifold body 10 is provided with a longitudinal through hollow 11from which are diverted a plurality of holes, at one end of which (inthe drawings it is at the upper portion) is screwed a pipe joint 13which is connected to a pipe in communication with a compressor (notshown in the drawings) and at the other end of which is usually mounteda drain cock 50 as is explained in the following description (Refer toFIG. 2). Drain cock 50 may be mounted on an open end of the divertedholes 12, when the other end of the longitudinal through hollow ismounted with an adequate plug. The holes 12 from the through hollow 11may be diverted in different fashion. Those shown in FIGS. 1, 2 and 4are diverted at an angle of in respect of the through hollow 11. On thecontrary the diverted holes 14 in FIGS. 3 and 5 are diverted with anangle smaller than 90. The reason for this is to reduce the fluidresistance. The embodiment shown in FIG. 3 will now be described indetail.

Referring to FIG. 3 to the through hollow 11 in the manifold body 10 areconnected a plurality of diverting holes 14a 14b positioned on bothsides of the hollow 11 alternately and having '0," 0 angles in respectof the hollow respectively. These angles are arranged in such a way thatan angle at the front is bigger than that at the rear (FIG. 3, from leftto right). That is to say, each 0 is in the following relation; R (b, 41 b, Thus, turbulent flows that usually occur at the diverting portiondo not appear and the flow is very smooth, and the compressed airbecomes a laminar flow to be diverted with less loss of energy. As thediverting part is oval shaped, it is larger than the cross sectionthereof if the holes were attached rectangularly to the hollow. Thiswill let much more fluid through the oval area than through the areasshown in FIGS. 1, 2 and 4, and the loss of fluid energy bcomes lesscorresponding to the smothness in flow. and the occurence of turbulentflows becomes less as well. The connecting angles 0, 0 are made smallerin inverse proportion to the inner resistance. For example, whencompressed air is supplied to the first diverting hole 14a in spite ofthe high pressure in the through hollow, as the connecting angle 0, islarger than the connecting angle 0 the inner resistance in the vicinityof the diverting hole 14a becomes larger than that in the other divertedhole 14f. The fluid energy of the compressed air is reduced in responseto the said inner resistance and the laminar flow with a little lowerpressure than that in the through hollow enters into the diverted hole14a. On the other hand, at the diverted portion of the diverted hole14f, the fluid energy loss is less than that at the diverted portion ofthe diverted hole 14a. Therefore, in spite of the fact that the fluidenergy in the through hollow becomes low as the fluid goes through thehollow from the front portion to the rear portion, the same laminar flowas that in the diverted flow 144 is obtained in this diverted hole 14f.As a result, homogeneous equal pressure compressed air is alwayssupplied to every one of plural air tools respectively.

A plug 20 which is mounted on the opening portions of the diverted holes12, 14 and/or at the other end of the through hole 1 1 is explained inthe following description. One of the features of the present inventionlies in the combination of a manifold body with a pressure meter and adrain cock which readily connected and disconnected, as needed. So, asshown in the drawing, through the use of the plug and the joint 30, thepressure meter 40 and the drain cock 50 are mounted readily and securelyon the manifold body by merely thrusting and pushing. The plugs 20 inFIGS. 1, 2 and 3 are of rigid type and are only screwed to the open endsof the diverted holes in the manifold body and of the other end of thethrough hollow. On the other hand, the plugs 21 in FIGS. 4, 5 and 6 arerotatable relative to the manifold body 10 and the tip end thereof maybe freely turned to any direction, or is a movable type. Plugs may bemounted differently, but this embodiment discloses plugs mounted byuniversal type joints. Naturally a jointing method is not limited to theuniversal type joint, and the type called ball and socket joint may beapplicable. These plugs 21 are movably received in the recess 22 in themanifold body 10 by the spherical part 23 at the root portion thereof,and around the spherical part 23 is set a sealing 24 and at the openingend of a recess 22 is applied a stopper nut 25, thus regulating themotion of the plug 21 in a predetermined region. As shown in FIG. 5,when the diverted holes 14a 14s are mounted with the plugs 21 which areinclined relative to the through hollow, the recesses 26 are provided ateach open end of the holes in the side of the manifold body. The plugsare movable as required in a cone shape region. Therefore, pipes andhoses extending from air tools or other portions may take the shortestcut and pipes and hoses to be used are of the length of the shortestdistance and excessive loads are not applied to pipes and hoses duringoperation, thereby improving the operational efficiency.

The above plugs 20, 21 are used with a socket joint 30 as if in onebody. Inside the plug is set a valve 22 which operates in response to apressure gauge or a drain cock insertion and is put in a hole 31provided inside socket joint 30. On the shoulder portion 24 formed in ahole 23 of the plugs 20, 21 is mounted a spring imparting a constantpressure to the valve 22. Around the outer periphery of an opening 32 atthe end of the socket joint are provided several balls 33 with anadequate interval therebetween and is mounted a sleeve 34 which moves tothe left and right in the drawing (FIG. 1) to influence the movement ofthe balls 33. At the each base portion of the pressure meter and thedrain cock removably inserted in the socket joint 30 are rigidly setplugs 41 and 51 respectively. Plugs 41 and 51 are provided withrespective recesses 42, 52 for engaging the balls 33 in the socketjoint. A through hollow (not shown in the drawing) in the plug is incommunication with the pressure meter 43 and the drain cock body 53. InFIG. 2 is shown the state where a drain cock 50 and the pressure meterare mounted removably on the socket joint 30, the former at the end ofthe through hollow in the manifold body, and the latter on the socketjoint 30 at the diverting holes. When the pressure meter and the draincock are inserted into an opening 32 of the socket joint respectively, aplurality of balls 33 are engaged to the recesses 42, 52. By

moving the sleeve 34 to left orright in the drawing (FIG. 2) theengaging balls are dislocated slightly toward the center of a circle oroutwardly, thereby facilitating an insertion and tightening of thepressure meter 5 and the drain cock. The tip ends of the pressure meterand the drain cock are brought into contact with the valve 22 set in theplugs 20, 21 and push the valve 22 back from the valve seat 26 againstthe spring 25, letting the compressed air enter. When the pressure meterand the drain cock are released from the socket joint, the valve 22 andthe valve seat 26 are brought into a tight contact, preventing thecompressed air from entering and leaking out. As explained above, thepressure meter being removably mounted on an any of the diverted holes,the pressure at the end of the compressor pipes, or in other words, thepressure at the nearest portion for an air tool, may be measuredprecisely and readily. The compressed air may be applied to the air toolunder an adequate pressure condition, thereby facilitating variousefficient operations. Although the embodiments shown in the drawing showa valve set in the plug 20, it should be clear that the valve may bemounted in a socket joint.

What is claimed is:

1. A manifold for coupling a source of pressure to a plurality of outputmeans which selectively include output utilization devices, a pressuremeter and a drain cock, comprising:

therein and a plurality of diverted holes therein which are incommunication with said longitudinal through hollow; a pipe joint at oneend of the longitudinal through hollow for coupling said manifold to asource of l pressure; and l a plurality of quick connect and disconnectplug means mounted at least on each opening end of said diverted holes,each of said plug means being provided with a through hole therein andhaving a valve therein which closes said through hole when said plugmeans has no output means connected thereto;

each of said plug means being adapted to selectively receive one of saidoutput means in a quick connect-disconnect manner and said valve meansbeing responsive to connection of an output means to a respective plugmeans for opening and allowing communication between said longitudinalthrough hollow and said outut means.

2. A manifold as claimed in claim 1, wherein said plurality of divertedholes are at an inclined angle relative to the longitudinal throughhollow such that the supplied pressure to said diverted holes issubstantially equal 3. A manifold as claimed in claim 2, wherein saidplurality of diverted holes are arranged on opposite sides of thelongitudinal through hollow alternately at an a manifold body having alongitudinal through hollow 5. A manifold as claimed in claim 1comprising one being arranged along the length of said longitudinal ofsaid quick connect and disconnect plug means at the through hollow andat an inclined angle relative to end of the longitudinal through hollowof said manifold the longitudinal through hollow with the angle of whichis opposite said one end thereof. inclination of the front diverted holebeing larger 6. A manifold as claimed in claim 1 wherein each of 5 thanthe angle of inclination of the rear diverted said plug means is adaptedto selectively receive at least hole, said angles having values suchthat the supone of a pressure meter and a drain cock in said quick pliedpressure to the diverted holes is substantially connect-disconnectmanner. equal;

7. A manifold for coupling a source of pressure to at connection meansfor coupling an output means to least one of a plurality of outputmeans, comprising: 10 said diverted holes.

a manifold body having a longitudinal through hollow 8. A manifold asclaimed in claim 7 wherein said ditherein and a plurality of divertedholes therein verted holes are arranged alternately on opposte sideswhich are in communication with said longitudinal of the longitudinalthrough hollow. through hollow, said plurality of diverted holes

1. A manifold for coupling a source of pressure to a plurality of outputmeans which selectively include output utilization devices, a pressuremeter and a drain cock, comprising: a manifold body having alongitudinal through hollow therein and a plurality of diverted holestherein which are in communication with said longitudinal throughhollow; a pipe joint at one end of the longitudinal through hollow forcoupling said manifold to a source of pressure; and a plurality of quickconnect and disconnect plug means mounted at least on each opening endof said diverted holes, each of said plug means being provided with athrough hole therein and having a valve therein which closes saidthrough hole when said plug means has no output means connected thereto;each of said plug means being adapted to selectively receive one of saidoutput means in a quick connect-disconnect manner and said valve meansbeing responsive to connection of an output means to a respective plugmeans for opening and allowing communication between said longitudinalthrough hollow and said outut means.
 2. A manifold as claimed in claim1, wherein said plurality of diverted holes are at an inclined anglerelative to the longitudinal through hollow such that the suppliedpressure to said diverted holes is substantially equal.
 3. A manifold asclaimed in claim 2, wherein said plurality of diverted holes arearranged on opposite sides of the longitudinal through hollowalternately at an angle relative to the longitudinal through hollow,said diverted holes being so arranged that the angle at the front islarger than that at the rear, said angles having values such that thesupplied pressure to the diverted holes is equal.
 4. A manifold asclaimed in claim 1 wherein at least one of said plugs is rotatablyattached to said manifold body so as to enable changing the direction ofthe output tip end thereof.
 5. A manifold as claimed in claim 1comprising one of said quick connect and disconnect plug means at theend of the longitudinal through hollow of said manifold which isopposite said one end thereof.
 6. A manifold as claimed in claim 1wherein each of said plug means is adapted to selectively receive atleast one of a pressure meter and a drain cock in said quickconnect-disconnect manner.
 7. A manifold for coupling a source ofpressure to at least one of a plurality of output means, comprising: amanifold body having a longitudinal through hollow therein and aplurality of diverted holes therein which are in communication with saidlongitudinal through hollow, said plurality of diverted holes beingarranged along the length of said longitudinal through hollow and at aninclined angle relative to the longitudinal through hollow with theangle of inclination of the front diverted hole being larger than theangle of inclination of the rear diverted hole, said angles havingvalues such that the supplied pressure to the diverted holes issubstantially equal; connection means for coupling an output means tosaid diverted holes.
 8. A manifold as claimed in claim 7 wherein saiddiverted holes are arranged alternately on opposte sides of thelongitudinal through hollow.